Explanation:
This
sharp, wide-field view features
infrared light from the spiral
Andromeda Galaxy (M31).
Dust heated by Andromeda's young stars is shown in yellow and red,
while its older population of stars appears as a bluish haze.
The false-color skyscape is a mosaic of images from NASA's new
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE)
satellite.
With over twice the diameter of
our Milky Way, Andromeda is the largest galaxy in
the
local group.
Andromeda's own satellite galaxies M110
(below) and
M32 (above)
are also included in the combined fields.
Launched in December 2009, WISE began a six month long infrared
survey of the entire sky on January 14.
Expected to discover
near-Earth asteroids
as well as explore
the distant universe, its sensitive infrared detectors are
cooled by frozen hydrogen.
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